Calcium's Ability to Help Maintain Normal Blood Pressure Levels

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By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, July 27, 2006, abstracted from "Blood pressure response to calcium supplementation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials" in the August 2006 issue of the Journal of Human Hypertension

Known to be "a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular disease",1 high blood pressure is a world-wide epidemic2 that affects 1 in 3 American adults and killed nearly 50,000 Americans in 2002 alone.3 According to the American Heart Association, uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure.4

While inflammation is a significant contributor to high blood pressure,5 another significant contributor is calcium levels in the body, because of calcium’s role in muscle function.6 Low calcium levels can disrupt muscle function such as that in your arteries, impairing their ability to relax. Now a new study7 has found that calcium can indeed play a significant role in helping you maintain normal blood pressure levels.

In the study, the researchers reviewed 42 studies examining calcium’s role in high blood pressure. The studies ranged from 3 to 208 weeks and used an average of 1200 mg of calcium per day. They found that calcium supplementation had a greater effect in populations with low dietary calcium (less than 800 mg per day) versus those with higher dietary intakes (more than 800 mg per day). Overall, the 42 studies showed that an average of 1,000 mg of calcium supplementation per day "may significantly reduce [the top number] by 1.9 mm Hg and [the bottom number] by 1.0 mm Hg."

Although they concluded that "an adequate intake of calcium should be recommended for the prevention of hypertension", the researchers admit that the past inconsistent findings regarding calcium and high blood pressure8 are due to the tremendously important role lifestyle and diet play in high blood pressure.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:ChiroDocPSUalum@msn.com or visiting his website www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

Reference:

1 Kromhout D. The relation between blood pressure and mortality due to coronary heart disease among men in different parts of the world. Seven Countries Study Research Group. N Engl J Med 2000; 342: 1–8

2 Casas JP. Homocysteine and stroke: evidence on a causal link from mendelian randomization. Lancet 2005; 365(9455): 224-232

3 "High Blood Pressure Statistics" posted on the American Heart Association website http://www.americanheart.org/presen...identifier=4621

4 "High Blood Pressure" posted on the American Hearrt Association Websiste http://www.americanheart.org/presen...identifier=2114

5 Li JJ. Inflammation in hypertension: primary evidence. Chin Med J (Engl). 2006 Jul 20;119(14):1215-21

6 Omae T. Calcium supplementation in patients with essential hypertension: assessment by office, home and ambulatory blood pressure. J Hypertens 1998; 16: 1693–1699

7 Arends LR. Blood pressure response to calcium supplementation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Hum Hypertens 20: 571-580

8 Hamet P. The evaluation of the scientific evidence for a relationship between calcium and hypertension. J Nutr 1995; 125(Suppl): 311s–400s